I leafed through the pages of the women's magazine while I waited for my appointment. A side article about resiliency caught my eye and I quickly read through the story. The gist of it was this... a woman goes on a blind date, has a nice time. On the way home, she is in a terrible car accident and becomes paralyzed, unable to do anything, including talk. Over the months of her recovery, many people, including the young man she was on the date with come and visit her. They just sit and talk to her, read to her. As she goes through the healing process, physically and mentally, she eventually comes to realized that she has come to see that even when she had absolutely nothing to offer, she was loved.

Wow! How may of us truly believe this about ourselves? My hazard at a guess, with a quick look around the world around me, is not very many. I asked myself that question - Do I believe I am worthy of love even if I have absolutely nothing to offer?

Cultivating Self Worth

1. Self CareWhen we value our health and our well being, we give ourselves permission to be worthy. Even if you struggle a little with believing in your own worthiness, take some time to do something for your body or your mind. That might be eating a healthy meal, a massage, a walk in nature, taking a dog for a walk. No competition, no selfies, no box to tick. This is something you do for YOU. Sure maybe you have issues with eating unhealthy and beat yourself up about it most of the time. This time just eat to nourish yourself. And focus on just this time. To make this really about nourishing is the key. It is not doing for the sake of doing, it is an act of self appreciation.

2. CleanThis can be cleaning your home, or your car. Just make sure that when the task is being done, you recognize the effort of doing this for yourself. You want a clean home to be in. You want a clean body, with clean clothes. Cleaning removes the past, the negativity, purifying our senses. Breathe in the smell of cleanliness and the lightness of a more organized space. The beauty of a clean environment. You deserve to be in such a space.

3. PlayFind some friends, find a friend and play a game. It could be tag, it could be tossing rocks into the ocean, it could be frisbee. Just play. To play allows you to stop taking yourself so seriously. Get out of your mind and into your body. When you reconnect to the physical body, the mind becomes less serious, worried. We laugh and we heal the stress in our body. With less stress, the heart and body relax.

4. Let GoThe whole world and everything that happens in it is not about you. It is about all the multitudes of threads running through it. Often times we believe that we are the centre of the Universe and all that is happening is because of us. But that is not true. All that happens, happens because of the interplay of many karmic seeds. Sure your karmic seeds have something to do with you being in the situation, but lots of others seeds also influence that situation.

5. Be kindIf a friend or your child were to ask you if s/he was worthy of love, I am fairly certain most of us would agree without hesitation that yes, they definitely were. So be your own best friend. Do unto yourself as you would do unto another whom you love.